Using similarities and differences, analogies, and metaphors (Venn Diagram)
Setting objectives and providing feedback (student friendly objectives and lesson closure)
Lesson Length: 50 minutes
Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to infer character traits of a main character using evidence from the text such as actions, dialogue, feelings etc.
Objectives
Infer traits of a character
Locate and interpret evidence to support character traits.
Create a graphic organizer identifying character traits and evidence from the text.
Utilize new technology (Popplet).
Resources, Materials, and Equipment
Children’s or Young Adult Literature (fiction and informational books)
Big Book Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
eBook Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Collection of nonfiction books about penguins for students to read if they finish their work early. (Including these among your resources for this lesson would have enriched your resources.) Websites (including pathfinders) www.popplet.com to create graphic organizer
Subscription to BrainPop (www.brainpop.com ) and BrainPop Jr.
Link to character video on BrainPop - http://www.brainpopjr.com/readingandwriting/storyelements/character/ (subscription needed to access)
Graphic organizers
Students will create a bubble map on Popplet
*Link to the template sample for the graphic organizer created at Popplet -- Character Trait Graphic Organizer Man
Educators will provide hoola hoops for students to use to make a Venn Diagram. ;-)
Materials
Character traits anchor chart created on previous day
Could this be more effective if it were presented in the shape of a classic Venn diagram? (Connection to your hula hoops?) Equipment
SMARTboard or other projection device
laptops or iPads with Internet connection
Collaboration
Both teachers planned this series of lessons through face-to-face meetings as well as using a Google doc. They have chosen to use two different coteaching approaches; team teaching and parallel teaching. Their roles during the lesson are as follows,
Team Teaching - Motivate learning by acting out various scenarios in which students must infer: Mrs. Nix and Mrs. Ramirez
Team Teaching - Read Tacky the Penguin: Mrs. Ramirez, Record student responses: Mrs. Nix
Parallel Teaching - Mrs. Ramirez will run one station where students will create a graphic organizer using Popplet. Mrs. Nix will run another station where students will use hoola hoops and character trait cards to create a Venn Diagram comparing Tacky and his penguin friends. Effective and creative use of two educators
Assessment
Educators will assess student graphic organizers that are created at the Popplet station using a rubric.
Because the librarian will be in charge of the graphic organizer station, the educators have chosen to assess the graphic organizers together. This way the teacher and librarian can have a dialog about how each student completed the graphic organizer and whether or not they met the standards.
Note: The Venn Diagram station will be reinforcing a skill learned in another lesson while providing practice using character traits and therefore will not be assessed in this lesson.
Standards (from the TEKS or other state standards)
Reading and/or writing
110.13. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2
2.9 Reading/Comprehension of Literacy Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understand. Students are expected to:
(B) describe main characters in works of fictions, including their traits, motivations, and feelings.
Listening and speaking Other content areas Educational technology
126.6. Technology Applications, Kindergarten-Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2012-2013
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(4) Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. The student applies critical-thinking skills to solve problems, guide research, and evaluate projects using digital tools and resources. The student is expected to:
(D) collect, analyze, and represent data using tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, graphic organizers, charts, multimedia, simulations, models, and programming languages.
Information literacy (or AASL Indicators)
AASL Standard 2: Draw Conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge
2.1 Skills
2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful
2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information
AASL Standard 3: Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society
3.4 Self-Assessment Strategies
3.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product
Implementation
Process
Motivation - Team Teaching
The educators will begin the lesson by showing a short character video from Brainpop to the class.
Educators will ask the students to describe the character from the video using one word.
Educators will ask students how they came up with those words citing clues from the video to support their answers.
Educators will introduce the word "infer" as using your background knowledge and clues to help you understand something.
Next, both educators will act out two scenarios. Brilliant (and fun!) use of two educators!
Scenario 1:
Mrs. Ramirez: “Hello Mrs. Nix, My name is Mrs. Ramirez. I know that you are new to our school and I was wondering if you would like to sit with me at lunch today.”
Mrs. Nix: “Yes thank you I would love to eat lunch with you.”
Educators will ask students to describe Mrs. Ramirez.
Educators will ask students how they came up with those words.
Educators will explaining that the students used Mrs. Ramirez's actions as clues to "infer" something about her character.
Scenario 2:
Mrs. Nix: Stomps across the room with arms folded and uses a mean sounding voice “I am going to my room and I want all of you to leave me alone.”
Educators will ask students to describe Mrs. Nix.
Educators will point out that Mrs. Nix did not use the words mad or unhappy in the scenario and yet students knew she was mad.
Educators will again point out that students are "inferring" that Mrs. Nix is mad based off of her actions.
Educators will tell students that authors often do this in books to make the story more interesting.
Educators will introduce student friendly objectives...
Student-friendly objectives
1. Infer traits of the main character.
2. Find clues to support character traits.
3. Make a graphic organizer identifying character traits and give proof from the text.
4. Use new technology (Popplet).
Presentation - Team Teaching Modeling:
Educators will remind students of the character trait anchor chart that was created the day before.
Educators will point out the difference between inside and outside traits.
Educators will tell students that good readers think about the characters when they read a story and use their actions and words to infer character traits.
Educators will introduce the book Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.
One educator will read the book, stopping often to think aloud about Tacky and his friends. The other educator will use the Smartboard and www.popplet.com to create a graphic organizer of character traits of Tacky's friends, Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly and Perfect. Throughout the book both educators will engage the students in questions about the penguins to lead them to infer character traits that can be added to the graphic organizer. Both educators will model how to use evidence (clues) from the text to infer those traits. Using think-alouds?
Student participation procedures or Student practice procedures - Parallel Teaching
After reading Tacky, students will be divided into two groups and sent to one of two stations. After 15 minutes, students will rotate to the other station. The stations will be monitored/instructed by one of the educators as follows:
Station 1 : Librarian Directed & Assisted
1. Students will use Popplet on the computer (and/or IPad) to create a graphic organizer about the main character of the story.
2. Students will identify 3-4 character traits of Tacky.
3. Students will find evidence from the text to support these character traits.
4. Students will fill out a self assessment rubric after they have completed the graphic organizer.
Station 2: Teacher Directed & Assisted
1. Students will create a Venn Diagram using hoola hoops to compare/contrast Tacky and his friends.
2. Students place character trait cards in the correct part of the Venn Diagram to describe Tacky and his friends. Some of the traits will apply to all of the characters and be placed in the center of the Venn Diagram.
Guided practice
Station 1:
Mrs. Ramirez will monitor students working on the graphic organizer on Popplet.com about the main character of the story. If students are struggling with inferring traits from story about the main character Mrs. Ramirez will refer students back to the Tacky story (iPads with eBooks will be available at each station) and will pose questions that can assist students in finding evidence to infer those traits. Mrs. Ramirez will help students use a self-assessment rubric to evaluate their own work.
Station 2:
Mrs. Nix will monitor students that are working on the Venn Diagram activity. The teacher will help guide students that may get off task or need direction when placing the trait cards in the appropriate area on the Venn Diagram. Again, iPads with Tacky eBooks will be available.
*Students will change stations after 15 minutes.
*Students who finish the stations early may read the eBook interactive version of Tacky or read from the collection of nonfiction penguin books provided.
Excellent guided practice. 15 minutes may be too short.
Closure
Educators will bring both groups back together after they have completed both stations. Educators will have students recall one of the traits from the station activities to act out to the entire class. Students will try to infer the trait the student is acting out. Students that are inferring the traits must justify the trait with reasoning or evidence. As time allows, different students will be selected to present a selected trait. Hurray for students being active in demonstrating a learning objective in the closure.
Reflection
How can we identify the main characters in a story or book? How can we make inferences about character traits? How can making inferences help us in reading? When you are struggling to understand the character, what strategies can we use to help understand characters in the text?
Extensions(Moreillon 15, 17)
Following this lesson, students will use their inferring skills to write about a character from their self selected reading book in their reading response journals. Students will be encouraged to create a bubble graphic organizer similar to the one created in this lesson or some other graphic organizer that they may find useful.
Educators will continue to use the term "infer" across content areas. Extensions for this lesson can and should be numerous and natural throughout the school day. Students can infer character traits of historical figures, they can infer why a scientific experiment goes wrong, they can also be challenged to create scenarios in their own writing in which readers must infer. In other words, as a writer, students can learn to "show not tell."
Excellent extensions. The second one could benefit from a "strong characters" text set.
Moreillon, J. Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2007.
Moreillon, Judi. Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Secondary School Libraries: Maximizing Your Impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2012.
Collaborators: Pattie Nix & Sabrina Ramirez
Dr. M.
Planning
- Resources, Materials, and Equipment
Children’s or Young Adult Literature (fiction and informational books)Big Book Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
eBook Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Collection of nonfiction books about penguins for students to read if they finish their work early. (Including these among your resources for this lesson would have enriched your resources.)
Websites (including pathfinders)
www.popplet.com to create graphic organizer
Subscription to BrainPop (www.brainpop.com ) and BrainPop Jr.
Link to character video on BrainPop - http://www.brainpopjr.com/readingandwriting/storyelements/character/ (subscription needed to access)
Graphic organizers
Students will create a bubble map on Popplet
*Link to the template sample for the graphic organizer created at Popplet -- Character Trait Graphic Organizer Man
Educators will provide hoola hoops for students to use to make a Venn Diagram. ;-)
Materials
3. Educator assessment rubric
4. Hoola Hoops (4-6) for creating Venn Diagrams
5. Premade character trait cards to use with hoola hoops
6. Self check sheet for Venn Diagram
Could this be more effective if it were presented in the shape of a classic Venn diagram? (Connection to your hula hoops?)
Equipment
SMARTboard or other projection device
laptops or iPads with Internet connection
- Collaboration
Both teachers planned this series of lessons through face-to-face meetings as well as using a Google doc. They have chosen to use two different coteaching approaches; team teaching and parallel teaching. Their roles during the lesson are as follows,Effective and creative use of two educators
- Assessment
Educators will assess student graphic organizers that are created at the Popplet station using a rubric.Students will be able to self assess their own graphic organizers using the student rubric.
Because the librarian will be in charge of the graphic organizer station, the educators have chosen to assess the graphic organizers together. This way the teacher and librarian can have a dialog about how each student completed the graphic organizer and whether or not they met the standards.
Note: The Venn Diagram station will be reinforcing a skill learned in another lesson while providing practice using character traits and therefore will not be assessed in this lesson.
- Standards (from the TEKS or other state standards)
Reading and/or writing110.13. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2
2.9 Reading/Comprehension of Literacy Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understand. Students are expected to:
(B) describe main characters in works of fictions, including their traits, motivations, and feelings.
Listening and speaking
Other content areas
Educational technology
126.6. Technology Applications, Kindergarten-Grade 2, Beginning with School Year 2012-2013
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(4) Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. The student applies critical-thinking skills to solve problems, guide research, and evaluate projects using digital tools and resources. The student is expected to:
(D) collect, analyze, and represent data using tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, graphic organizers, charts, multimedia, simulations, models, and programming languages.
Information literacy (or AASL Indicators)
AASL Standard 2: Draw Conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge
2.1 Skills
2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful
2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information
AASL Standard 3: Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society
3.4 Self-Assessment Strategies
3.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product
Implementation
- Process
Motivation - Team TeachingThe educators will begin the lesson by showing a short character video from Brainpop to the class.
Educators will ask the students to describe the character from the video using one word.
Educators will ask students how they came up with those words citing clues from the video to support their answers.
Educators will introduce the word "infer" as using your background knowledge and clues to help you understand something.
Next, both educators will act out two scenarios. Brilliant (and fun!) use of two educators!
Scenario 1:
Mrs. Ramirez: “Hello Mrs. Nix, My name is Mrs. Ramirez. I know that you are new to our school and I was wondering if you would like to sit with me at lunch today.”
Mrs. Nix: “Yes thank you I would love to eat lunch with you.”
Educators will ask students to describe Mrs. Ramirez.
Educators will ask students how they came up with those words.
Educators will explaining that the students used Mrs. Ramirez's actions as clues to "infer" something about her character.
Scenario 2:
Mrs. Nix: Stomps across the room with arms folded and uses a mean sounding voice “I am going to my room and I want all of you to leave me alone.”
Educators will ask students to describe Mrs. Nix.
Educators will point out that Mrs. Nix did not use the words mad or unhappy in the scenario and yet students knew she was mad.
Educators will again point out that students are "inferring" that Mrs. Nix is mad based off of her actions.
Educators will tell students that authors often do this in books to make the story more interesting.
Educators will introduce student friendly objectives...
Student-friendly objectives
1. Infer traits of the main character.
2. Find clues to support character traits.
3. Make a graphic organizer identifying character traits and give proof from the text.
4. Use new technology (Popplet).
Presentation - Team Teaching
Modeling:
Educators will remind students of the character trait anchor chart that was created the day before.
Educators will point out the difference between inside and outside traits.
Educators will tell students that good readers think about the characters when they read a story and use their actions and words to infer character traits.
Educators will introduce the book Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.
One educator will read the book, stopping often to think aloud about Tacky and his friends. The other educator will use the Smartboard and www.popplet.com to create a graphic organizer of character traits of Tacky's friends, Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly and Perfect. Throughout the book both educators will engage the students in questions about the penguins to lead them to infer character traits that can be added to the graphic organizer. Both educators will model how to use evidence (clues) from the text to infer those traits.
Using think-alouds?
Student participation procedures
or
Student practice procedures - Parallel Teaching
After reading Tacky, students will be divided into two groups and sent to one of two stations. After 15 minutes, students will rotate to the other station. The stations will be monitored/instructed by one of the educators as follows:
Station 1 : Librarian Directed & Assisted
1. Students will use Popplet on the computer (and/or IPad) to create a graphic organizer about the main character of the story.
2. Students will identify 3-4 character traits of Tacky.
3. Students will find evidence from the text to support these character traits.
4. Students will fill out a self assessment rubric after they have completed the graphic organizer.
Station 2: Teacher Directed & Assisted
1. Students will create a Venn Diagram using hoola hoops to compare/contrast Tacky and his friends.
2. Students place character trait cards in the correct part of the Venn Diagram to describe Tacky and his friends. Some of the traits will apply to all of the characters and be placed in the center of the Venn Diagram.
Guided practice
Station 1:
Mrs. Ramirez will monitor students working on the graphic organizer on Popplet.com about the main character of the story. If students are struggling with inferring traits from story about the main character Mrs. Ramirez will refer students back to the Tacky story (iPads with eBooks will be available at each station) and will pose questions that can assist students in finding evidence to infer those traits. Mrs. Ramirez will help students use a self-assessment rubric to evaluate their own work.
Station 2:
Mrs. Nix will monitor students that are working on the Venn Diagram activity. The teacher will help guide students that may get off task or need direction when placing the trait cards in the appropriate area on the Venn Diagram. Again, iPads with Tacky eBooks will be available.
*Students will change stations after 15 minutes.
*Students who finish the stations early may read the eBook interactive version of Tacky or read from the collection of nonfiction penguin books provided.
Excellent guided practice. 15 minutes may be too short.
Closure
Educators will bring both groups back together after they have completed both stations. Educators will have students recall one of the traits from the station activities to act out to the entire class. Students will try to infer the trait the student is acting out. Students that are inferring the traits must justify the trait with reasoning or evidence. As time allows, different students will be selected to present a selected trait.
Hurray for students being active in demonstrating a learning objective in the closure.
Reflection
How can we identify the main characters in a story or book? How can we make inferences about character traits? How can making inferences help us in reading? When you are struggling to understand the character, what strategies can we use to help understand characters in the text?
Extensions(Moreillon 15, 17)
Following this lesson, students will use their inferring skills to write about a character from their self selected reading book in their reading response journals. Students will be encouraged to create a bubble graphic organizer similar to the one created in this lesson or some other graphic organizer that they may find useful.
Educators will continue to use the term "infer" across content areas. Extensions for this lesson can and should be numerous and natural throughout the school day. Students can infer character traits of historical figures, they can infer why a scientific experiment goes wrong, they can also be challenged to create scenarios in their own writing in which readers must infer. In other words, as a writer, students can learn to "show not tell."
Excellent extensions. The second one could benefit from a "strong characters" text set.
Moreillon, J. Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2007.
Moreillon, Judi. Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Secondary School Libraries: Maximizing Your Impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2012.